THE public needs to be reassured that a man who stabbed his friend to death is a not danger to anybody else, a judge has said.

Neil Brook, aged 33, killed his friend and neighbour, Josef Witkowski, in a “dramatic and extremely violent” attack in his flat in Wilbraham Road, Walkden.

Brook was cleared of murder, at Manchester Crown Court, on Tuesday, but convicted of manslaughter after the jury accepted his claim that the attack had been provoked.

He was due to be sentenced yesterday, but Judge Michael Henshell adjourned the case and ordered a full report to be carried out into whether Brook posed a danger to the public.

He said that the report was needed to decide whether he would impose an indefinite sentence for public protection or a fixed term in prison.

Mr Henshell said: “Anybody looking at the facts of this case would be struck by the level of violence, whatever the level of provocation is assessed to be.

“This is a case where I believe the public expect the court to make every enquiry possible whether a man convicted of an offence of this type poses a future risk of harm.”

Brook stabbed 27-year-old Mr Witkowski multiple times including a blow to the chest, which pierced his heart, after they fell out in a row over a mis-spelt text message.

Mr Witkowski suffered horrific injuries with 104 wounds all over his body including slice marks on his hands where he tried to defend himself.

Brook also tried to smash through his bathroom door with two knives and there was some evidence that he stamped on Mr Witkowski as well.

When police arrived, Brook was covered from head to toe in blood.

Brook then sang along to music on his TV while he waited for a police van to come and take him away.

The jury accepted Brook’s claim that Mr Witkowski had come to his flat with a knife, looking for a fight, although it was never conclusively established whether he had a knife or not. A date has not yet been set for Brook’s sentencing, but it will be in about four weeks’ time.